The Director, Executive Committee and Research Program Leaders will continue to oversee the strategic needs of the DCCC in recruiting established faculty. Junior faculty are often recruited by Research Program Leaders. The DCCC has created a formal Training and Career Development Sub-Committee to help facilitate the review and oversight of these activities related to new junior faculty. The Training and Career Development Subcommittee will meet every 6 months to review progress of awardees and to consider applications for new candidates. Their recommendations will be reviewed by the Executive Committee that same month and a formal decision regarding support will be made. In addition, this sub-committee will serve as an advocate for new faculty supported by the DCCC. The Training and Career Development Sub-Committee is chaired by Drs. Mariano Garcia-Blanco and Victoria Seewaldt. PILOT RESEARCH PROJECTS (27 projects) Many programs elected to fund Pilot Research Projects with their annual allocation. Many of these pilot studies have led to the preparation, submission and funding of peer-reviewed grants. Seed money for pilot studies is the most difficult funding to come by, thus CCSG Developmental Funds for this purpose are of great importance. These projects and outcomes are detailed within the program descriptions. In addition to the pilot research projects selected and funded by programs, the DCCC has a well-established mechanism for the allocation of funds for pilot projects. The Cancer Center offers to its members the opportunity to submit proposals for "Discovery Research Group" awards. Proposals are solicited from Cancer Center members once a year. Proposals are reviewed, scored (utilizing a NIH-like scoring mechanism) and funds are allocated. The purpose of these awards is to promote significant collaborative interactions that will allow collection of preliminary data suitable for submission of program projects, joint grants, or responses to RFAs. Discovery Research Groups consist of two or more investigators. The purpose of the group is to encourage the development of translational research projects relevant to the cancers studied in our established clinical research programs (Radiation Oncology, Neurooncology, Experimental Therapeutics, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Breast and Ovarian Oncology, and Cancer Prevention, Detection and Control). Emphasis also has been placed on the site-specific developing programs (GU/prostate, GI, thoracic, skin and hematologic malignancies). Approximately $60,000 has been designated annually to fund one or more one-time Discovery Research Group awards. Funds are utilized by December 31 with a final report due by January 31 of the following year indicating how the funds were spent, as well as the outcome of the projects.